U.S. patent application number 12/523823 was filed with the patent office on 2010-06-10 for reaction well for an automatic analysis appliance.
This patent application is currently assigned to DIAGNOSTICA STAGO. Invention is credited to Jean-Francois Gelin.
Application Number | 20100143195 12/523823 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38473383 |
Filed Date | 2010-06-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100143195 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gelin; Jean-Francois |
June 10, 2010 |
REACTION WELL FOR AN AUTOMATIC ANALYSIS APPLIANCE
Abstract
A reaction well, intended for use in an automatic analysis
appliance and including an opening at its top end and one or two
flaps for partially closing said opening, the flaps being separated
by a slot enabling a liquid injection or sampling needle to pass
through, and preventing stirrer means contained within the well
from escaping.
Inventors: |
Gelin; Jean-Francois;
(Creteil, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
VENABLE LLP
P.O. BOX 34385
WASHINGTON
DC
20043-9998
US
|
Assignee: |
DIAGNOSTICA STAGO
Asnieres Cedex
FR
|
Family ID: |
38473383 |
Appl. No.: |
12/523823 |
Filed: |
January 23, 2008 |
PCT Filed: |
January 23, 2008 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR08/00082 |
371 Date: |
January 14, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
422/68.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01F 13/0818 20130101;
B01L 3/50 20130101; G01N 35/02 20130101; B01L 2300/046 20130101;
G01N 11/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
422/68.1 |
International
Class: |
G01N 33/00 20060101
G01N033/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 23, 2007 |
FR |
2007/0000445 |
Claims
1. A reaction well, intended for use in an automatic analysis
appliance and containing a stirrer device to stir a fluid medium,
the well including an opening at its top end and having at least
one flap to partially close said opening, the at least one flap
extending substantially in the plane of the opening from one side
thereof towards the opposite side.
2. A well according to claim 1, further comprising two flaps to
partially close said opening, said flaps extending substantially
towards each other in said plane of the opening when they are in
their position for closing the opening.
3. A well according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flap in
the closed position prevents the stirrer device contained within
the well from escaping.
4. A well according to claim 2, wherein the two flaps comprise
substantially similar dimensions and shape.
5. A well according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flap is
adapted to be molded with the well.
6. A well according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flap
comprises the same medium as the well.
7. A well according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flap is
molded onto the sides of the top end of the well.
8. A well according to claim 7, wherein the at least one flap is
molded in its position to partially close the opening of the
well.
9. A well according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flap is
injection-molded with the well, in an initial position disengaging
the opening of the well, then said at least one flap is folded down
into a position for partially closing the opening by being pivoted
about its connection zone with a side of the opening.
10. A well according to claim 9, wherein the well comprises a
plastics material presenting rigidity that allows the at least one
flap to be folded down from an initial position into a
partially-closed position in which it partially closes the well
opening, and that causes the flap connection zone to break at a
later time when the at least one flap pivots from its
partially-closed position into its initial position.
11. A well according to claim 9, further comprising a holding
device to hold the at least one flap in the closed position.
12. A well according to claim 11, wherein the holding device
comprises at least one protruding stud on one edge of the opening,
said stud extending in the plane of the opening.
13. A well according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flap in
the closed position includes a needle to be introduced to inject or
sample liquid in the well.
14. A well according to claim 2, wherein the two flaps are
separated from each other by a distance of about 2 mm in the closed
position.
15. A well according to claim 1, further comprising two lateral
lugs at the top end of the weld.
16. A well according to claim 15, wherein the two lugs project
outwards from the two short sides of the opening of the well, the
two flaps being attached to the two long sides of the opening.
17. A well according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flap is
opaque.
18. A well according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flap
includes a trapezoidal notch formed in a free side of said at least
one flap.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a reaction well, designed to be
used in an automatic analysis appliance for analyzing chemical or
biological samples.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Wells of this type are known from documents EP-A-0 325 874
and WO-A-03/065047, and are used for determining the time required
for the physical state of a medium to change, in particular for
determining the coagulation time of a blood sample, each well being
open at its top end and including a circularly arcuate bottom
forming a track for a ferromagnetic material ball that can be
caused to move in the well in periodic motion by means of an
external magnetic field, variations in amplitude and/or frequency
of the motion of the ball being representative of the physical
state of the blood sample.
[0003] In document WO-A-03/065047, the wells containing the balls
are fastened side by side in a detachable manner on a flexible
support film that closes their top ends and that can be wound on a
reel in order to feed an automatic analysis appliance and cause the
wells to move in succession through the appliance.
[0004] That film includes a series of slots or orifices situated in
register with the well openings for depositing samples and reagents
into the wells.
[0005] In order to fasten the wells onto the film, each well
includes, at its top end, two lateral tabs formed with protruding
studs designed to be engaged by force in lateral perforations of
the film, the tabs of the wells fastened to the film forming a rack
enabling the film and well assembly to be driven by meshing with a
cog belt or the like.
[0006] Those known means present numerous advantages but also a few
drawbacks:
[0007] the wells must be fastened to the film, and then removed
from said film after use, which operations are not always carried
out in a perfect manner, with risk of premature or late removal of
the wells. Those operations also represent a cost that is not
negligible relative to the cost of the wells and that is in
addition to the cost of the film to which the wells are
fastened;
[0008] while the wells are being moved, the balls contained therein
might be poorly retained by the film and they might be ejected from
the wells. In this event, the planned analyses cannot be performed
correctly in the wells and must be re-done in wells containing
balls, and that results in a loss of samples, of reagents, and of
time.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] A particular object of the present invention is to avoid
those drawbacks of the prior art.
[0010] For this purpose the invention proposes a reaction well,
designed for use in an automatic analysis appliance and containing
stirrer means for stirring a fluid medium, the well including an
opening at its top end and having at least one flap for partially
closing said opening, the flap extending substantially in the plane
of the opening, from one side thereof towards the opposite
side.
[0011] In a variant, the well includes two flaps for partially
closing the above-mentioned opening, said flaps extending
substantially towards each other in the plane of the opening from
two opposite sides of the opening.
[0012] In the closed position, the flap(s) prevent(s) the stirrer
means contained within the well from escaping from said well, while
allowing a needle to pass for sampling or injecting liquid in the
well.
[0013] Advantageously, the flap(s) is/are formed by being
integrally molded with the well.
[0014] In a first embodiment of the invention, the flap(s) is/are
molded onto the top end of the well directly in their closed
position.
[0015] In this embodiment, the stirrer means, such as a ball of
ferromagnetic material, are placed in the well before molding on
the above-mentioned flap(s).
[0016] In another embodiment of the invention, the or each flap is
injection-molded with the well, in an initial position disengaging
the opening of the well, then said flap is folded down into a
position for partially closing the opening by being pivoted about
its connection zone with a side of the opening.
[0017] In this embodiment, the stirrer means, such as a ball of
ferromagnetic material, are placed in the well after molding the
above-mentioned tab(s) and before folding it/them down into the
closed position.
[0018] The plastics material from which the well is made presents
rigidity that allows the or each flap to be folded down from its
initial position into its partially-closed position in which it
partially closes the well opening, and that causes the flap
connection zone to break at a later time when the flap pivots from
its partially-closed position into its initial position.
[0019] This characteristic effectively prevents the wells, which
are consumables that are disposable after use, from being re-used a
second time, or a plurality of times after a first use, with all
the risks of contamination that that involves.
[0020] Advantageously, the well of the invention includes holding
means for holding the or each above-mentioned flap in its closed
position, these holding means comprising for example at least one
protruding stud formed on an side of the opening, said stud
extending substantially in the plane of the opening.
[0021] In a variant embodiment, the stirrer means contained within
the well are not constituted by a ball of ferromagnetic material,
but by a lever pivotally mounted on the top portion of the
well.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The invention can be understood better and other
characteristics, details, and advantages of the invention appear
more clearly on reading the following description given by way of
example and with reference to the accompanying drawing, in
which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a well of the
invention, coming out of a production mold;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the well in a
position of use;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cross-section view of a well in a
particular embodiment of the invention;
[0026] FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section view of the
well shown in FIG. 3;
[0027] FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of the well shown in FIG.
3; and
[0028] FIG. 6 is a larger-scale view of the circled detail VI of
the well shown in FIG. 3.
MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] Reference is made initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, which are
diagrams showing a well 10 of the invention, said well being
generally in the form of a parallelepiped of rectangular section
with a circularly arcuate bottom 12 and an open top end 14 of
rectangular shape.
[0030] The top end of the well 10 includes two tabs 16 projecting
outwards from the short sides of the rectangular opening 14 and
forming lugs for gripping and handling the well.
[0031] According to the invention, the top end of the well 10 also
includes at least one, and preferably two, fold-down flaps 18 for
partially closing the opening 14, the flaps extending outwards in
the position of manufacture of the well and projecting from the two
long sides of the rectangular opening 14, the two flaps having the
same shape and the same dimensions, but in a variant they could
also have different shapes and/or dimensions.
[0032] The zone where each flap 18 is connected to the top end of a
large wall 20 of the well is designed to enable the flap 18 to be
folded down into the plane of the opening 14, as shown in FIG. 2,
with this folding down taking place after placing liquid stirrer
means in the well, such as a ball of ferromagnetic material, a
pivoting lever, or other means.
[0033] When both flaps 18 have been folded down into the plane of
the top opening 14 of the well, the opening is not completely
closed, the flaps 18 being separated by a slot 22, with a width of
about 2 mm for example, thereby enabling a liquid injection or
sampling needle to pass through, and preventing the stirrer means
contained within the well from escaping.
[0034] The material from which the well is made and the
characteristics of the zones connecting the flaps 18 to the large
faces 20 of the well are designed to prevent the flaps 18 from
folding back in the opposite direction when said flaps are in their
closed position shown by FIG. 2.
[0035] Thus, if it is attempted to fold the flaps 18 back outwards
from their position shown in FIG. 2, this causes their links to the
well to break and prevents any future use of the well.
[0036] To this end, in this embodiment, the well is made by
injection-molding polyester, preferably a "crystal" polyester that
is completely transparent, said substance being of rigidity that is
well adapted to the folding characteristics desired for the flaps
18.
[0037] FIGS. 3 to 6 show a particular example of an embodiment of
the well 10 of the invention, said well being shown in the closed
position and containing stirrer means constituted by a ball 24 of
ferromagnetic material.
[0038] This ball is guided on a circularly arcuate, concave track
that is formed by two internal ribs 26 on the large walls 20 of the
well, these circularly arcuate ribs rising a little from the
middles of the large walls 20 on going towards the small walls 28
of the well.
[0039] The lugs 16 of the top end of the well 10 are of a shape
that is substantially trapezoidal and they include respective
protruding studs 30 on their top faces, of the type that is used,
in the above-mentioned prior art, to fasten wells to a film of
flexible material.
[0040] The flaps 18 for closing the top end of the well include, in
their longitudinal free sides remote from their zones connecting
them to the well, respective notches 32 of trapezoidal shape, the
two notches defining between them the above-mentioned slot 22 for
introducing a sampling or injection needle into the well.
[0041] Each notch 32 is formed substantially in the middle of the
free side of the corresponding flap 18 and it does not extend over
the entire length of the flap.
[0042] Thus, in their closed position, the two flaps 18 can be
substantially in contact with each other at their longitudinal ends
34, as can be seen in the plan view of FIG. 5.
[0043] In order to hold the flaps 18 into their closed position,
two small studs 36 can be formed protruding from the short sides of
the top end of the well 10, as can be better seen in FIG. 6, these
small studs 36 being situated along the trajectories of the
longitudinal ends 34 of the flaps 18 at the end of their
folding-down strokes into the closed position and forming hard
points that can be passed by pressing harder on the flaps 18 and
that then prevent the flaps from returning into an open position of
the well.
[0044] The zones 38 connecting the flaps 18 to the top sides of the
long walls 20 of the well have a determined shape, and a thickness
that is less than that of the flaps and the walls 20 so as to
constitute simultaneously flexible hinges enabling the flaps 18 to
be folded down into the closed position, and zones of weakness that
are intended to break when it is attempted to return the flaps 18
into an open position of the well.
[0045] The flaps 18 are advantageously formed integrally with the
well, by molding.
[0046] The flaps can be molded in the position shown in FIG. 1, and
are thus folded down into the closed position by pivoting through
approximately 180.degree. about their zones connected to the
well.
[0047] In a variant, they can be molded to extend the large walls
20 of the well and are thus folded down into a closed position by
pivoting through approximately 90.degree..
[0048] The flaps can also be made directly in their closed position
at the top end of the well, by being molded onto the top sides of
the long walls 20 of the well.
[0049] Whatever the method of manufacture, the flaps 18 can be
constituted from the same material as the well or from a material
that is different, but that is compatible with the material of the
well.
[0050] Whereas the well is made of a transparent material, the
flaps may possibly be made of an opaque material if it is useful to
protect the liquid medium contained in the well from ambient
light.
* * * * *